Live music in SF/Oakland, and maybe elsewhere...
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2011-03-24

I just pledged thirty simoleans for the Wax Idols album on Kickstarter, and am hoping that somebody goes for the gold and pledges the $200 to snag the free show. It's totally worth it! I'd do it except that I'm out in the cultural wasteland known as the Peninsula and don't think it would be very cool to drag anybody out here against their will.

The money was well worth it considering the strength of their material...I had the good fortune (no pun intended) of catching Hether's other group, Blasted Canyons, whom I caught opening for Thee Oh Sees at the Eagle Tavern last November) and being blown away by her stage presence and the juggernaut of "Ice Cream Man". It's not enough to have looks, you need the chops, and the force of will to preserve in the face of indifference and sometimes even outright hostility so mad props for making music that matters.

So we showed up early to catch their Noise Pop set, which I was looking forward to, since we couldn't get in to the sold-out Weekend show at the Hemlock Tavern (which Wax Idols opened), and were disappointed by the fact that everybody seems like to arrive late to these Noise Pop shows. Well, their loss...the SF Weekly reviewer didn't even mention them, so I guess he was one of the ones who who missed out, I won't bother to link his write-up, as it's complete garbage.

We caught them again a couple of weeks later at the Knockout in the Mission and were rewarded with a great set. Was really cool to stand next to Tamaryn, though I was way too shy to actually say something to her (or Heather for that matter) that wouldn't have sounded stupid, besides "thanks".

NOTE: If you download these, please be generous and donate to the group and help them make their album, because I want to hear it!

We've listened to our live recordings quite a bit (my compatriot almost never does this after he tapes a show)...and now you can listen to this too...normally, I wouldn't put out pre-release material in this way (and expect that I will have to remove it very soon) but this is too good to keep under wraps, seriously!

We also recorded opening act Jealousy...the only song we could ID was the last one "Palm Tree". Really liked the reel-to-reel that took them like forever to set up, though I'm not sure if it was merely a prop or actually was used for the background noises. Grand stuff.

2011-03-23

Playing catchup putting up all the great, great shows I've been to this year.

Here's another one, this was a highly anticipated Noise Pop show at the Cafe Du Nord featuring Mexican Summer recording artiste Tamaryn headlining, with labelmates The Black Ryder making an appearance all the way from Australia. Also playing were the Soft Moon (already covered here) and Wax Idols (subject of an upcoming post).

Without any further ado, here's our recording, which is a blend of two different recordings done with Sonic Studios mics.

Sadly, Tamaryn was having difficulties with her in-ear monitors, which had failed during her set, so she was having trouble hearing herself sing, but overall a strong performance of their songs from their Waves album. If you have a chance, give it a listen, it's excellent! Here's the listing on the Mexican Summer site.

For me, these guys were the big surprise, since I hadn't heard of them before the show. From what I hear, they're protoges of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and for me represent the best thing I've seen from down under since Eddy Current Suppression Ring. In fact, someone next to me said they had flown in all the way from Las Vegas just to check them out. Singer Aimee looked like Toni Halliday of Curve, but had a softer dreamier approach, wrapped in black leather.

Their drummer was fantastic as well, guitarist Scott shot out peals of tone and drone (just as advertised) and like Tamaryn, they have an album out on Mexican Summer.

Be sure to check out my video of 'Let It Go', which ranks as one of my best filmings, 'twas done with my iPhone 4.

2011-03-11

My thoughts go out to the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Minks are Shaun Kilfoyle and Amalie Bruun, with a full band with them on tour.

Both "Funeral Song" and "Ophelia" are favorite songs of mine presently. The Captured Tracks label may currently be on fire with all the quality acts they've featured over the past year (Dum Dum Girls, Thee Oh Sees, The Soft Moon, Wild Nothing, not to mention Mike Sniper's own Blank Dogs) but really the credit should go to the bands themselves for their songcraft and hard work. Even the bass amp packing it in during Funeral Song didn't really blight this gorgeous performance.

Note: A post covering the headlining Dum Dum Girls set will be forthcoming, but I'll first wait until their second album is in shops, as otherwise I'd be introducting quite a bit of pre-release material.

Alex Zhang Hungtai is Dirty Beaches, and yes, I'm going to mention Elvis Presley, Nick Cave, and Suicide as filtered through a retro-futurist 50's guitar sound, as much as that may make some of you already familiar with his work cringe. Here's a Pitchfork interview for some background, but for me, I have to admit the way he combed his hair between songs frightened me greatly, as well as him jumping into the crowed during the middle of the second(!) song...but later on the set, he ended up terminating a song by accidentally stepping on his power supply, which he handled gracefully.

2011-03-07

February 2010 was a fairly busy month for me, so I didn't have much in the way of downtime to catch my fellow readers/viewers/listeners up to some of my recent exploits. So there will be a series of nightly posts which should allow me to catch up.

By far, one of the best discoveries of the past few years have to be The Soft Moon. Led by Luis Vasquez, and also featuring Justin Anastassi (who also plays in Veil Veil Vanish) on bass and Damon Way on keyboards, they have astonished listeners and electrified audiences since they appeared out of the blue to claim the legacy for darkwave music in San Francisco set forth by bands like Chrome and Tuxedomoon (obscuros would also throw in Swell, but even I haven't heard any of their work). But I ultimately think they have their own unique sound and approach, you'll just have to listen and form your own opinions.

You can go to a hundred other places if you want to get your fill in for superlative reviews; all I can tell you is that the moment I heard their self-titled album, I knew they were going to be something special. And it doesn't hurt to be on one of the hottest labels presently operating, Captured Tracks. If the hairs on the back of your neck don't stand up for "Into The Depths" and "We Are We", check your pulse, it has stopped. And as amazing as their recorded output is, they're even better live, if you can believe it.

Anyway, I have several recordings to feature here, so without further ado, here they are.

SETLIST FOR ALL SHOWS

Into The Depths
Dead Love
Circles
Breathe The Fire
We Are We
Out Of Time
Parallels
Tiny Spiders

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